Aston Martin - Layout

Autodesk customer success story
COMPANY
Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.
LOCATION
Gaydon, United Kingdom
Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd
Accelerating the automotive
design process
SOFTWARE
Autodesk Alias®
Autodesk Maya®
Autodesk Showcase®
Autodesk SketchBook® Pro
Aston Martin passionately pursues
design excellence through investment in
advanced technologies
The creative and production
digital teams within the design
studio were previously using
separate software tools.
However, by working so
closely together and often on
each other's models, it made
sense to standardise one tool
for all surface creation within
the Aston Martin Digital
Group, Autodesk Alias
Image courtesy of Aston Martin
Design departments within all
manufacturers continually seek
ways to improve their in-house
design process. The design team at
Aston Martin has discovered that
cutting edge design and 3D printing
tools are not only extremely
enabling but also save time.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year,
Aston Martin is an iconic British automotive
brand. With its headquarters in Gaydon,
Warwickshire, it has transformed from a smallscale manufacturer of specialist sports cars to a
renowned luxury automotive marque.
Aston Martin boasts a very impressive model
range – including the Vanquish, DB9 and One77 supercar – all of which express the brand's
core values of power, beauty and soul. Housed
within a state-of-the-art design studio, which
opened in 2007, is Aston Martin's design team.
This niche and highly flexible team consists of
50 members across a range of disciplines.
Although each has their own role to play within
the design process, they are by no means
tunnelled towards one particular aspect.
For instance, individuals in the sculpting and
digital teams will readily collaborate around a
3D model on a computer screen drawing on
one another's skills and expertise.
The creative and production teams within the
Aston Martin Design Digital Group studio were
previously using separate CAS tools.
However, by working so closely together and
often on each other's models, it made sense to
standardise on one tool, Autodesk® Alias®.
This has resulted in a seamless flow of surfaces
all the way from the designer's initial sketch to
production. It has not only accelerated the
design process but has also greatly improved
efficiencies.
Autodesk customer success story
Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd
A mantra often heard within the Digital Group at the Aston
Martin Design Studio is 'from art to part with realism'
Aston Martin's design team
embraces and readily invests in
advanced technologies. This
desire to drive forward is fuelled
by the passion the designers
and the company as a whole
have for the beautiful cars they
produce. As the brand now
enters its second century, Aston
Martin continues to honour its
rich heritage whilst pushing
new boundaries
Image courtesy of Aston Martin
Art to part with realism
A mantra often heard within the Digital Group
at the Aston Martin Design Studio is 'from art
to part with realism'. This phrase captures a
very detailed design process but helps to
explain how a design goes from being inside
the designer's head to realistically visualised on
the computer screen. That same design data is
then used to prototype a part through the use
of advanced 3D printing technologies, whether
it's a small-scale part printed in-house or a fullscale component such as an entire deck lid
printed through a bureau.
From the first sketch at the start of the design
process – produced digitally on a Wacom tablet
or imported from paper into Autodesk Alias –
through to digital validation on the computer
screen and then physical validation with a
prototype part, all members of the team play a
role in approving the design. This means that
any issues can be spotted immediately –
preventing costly changes further down the line
in the tooling and manufacturing stages.
An example of this is the design of a wheel.
Previously, it would be sculpted by hand. This
process could take up to six months before a
one off wheel design was up to the standard
where the geometry could be sent to the
engineering department.
Today, the designer only has to draw a
segment of the wheel on a Wacom tablet and
Alias will mimic that section all the way round
the wheel.
That data can then be used to produce a
photorealistic visualisation to share with others
in the team and can also be sent to the 3D
printing machine to produce a prototype. This
means that literally the design can go from 'art'
one day to 'part' the very next.
Aston Martin has recently installed a large
screen, high definition projector coupled with
surround sound into a room where designers
as well as other members in the organization
can come together and interact digitally with
the designs.
Similarly, the design team recently had to
create a new deck lid for one of the cars when
the aero changed following the installation of a
new engine. This new deck lid with larger tail
flip was designed in Alias and tested
aerodynamically in the software before a fullscale part was rapid prototyped and metallised.
Through photorealistic visualisations and
animations, the latest automotive models or
concept designs can be fully experienced
before they reach production.
It was then fitted to the car and taken to the
race track to be tested. This was all carried out
within two weeks of releasing the design data.
Technology enabling innovation
For the Aston Martin design team there is no
question that all this technology is incredibly
enabling. In design review meetings designers
can now sketch quick ideas straight into the
Autodesk® SketchBook® Pro app on their iPads.
Aston Martin's design team embraces and
readily invests in advanced technologies. This
desire to drive forward is fuelled by the passion
the designers and the company as a whole
have for the beautiful cars they produce. As the
brand now enters its second century, Aston
Martin continues to honour its rich heritage
whilst pushing new boundaries.
To learn more about Autodesk’s solutions for
the automotive industry, visit,
www.autodesk.co.uk/automotive
This design tool will also automatically mirror
the lines and curves on one half of the car to
the other.
The resulting 2D sketch can be imported
straight into Autodesk Alias with no
misinterpretation of the designer's intent along
the way.
Autodesk, Alias, Maya, Showcase, and SketchBook are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in
the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right
to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical
errors that may appear in this document. © 2013 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.